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k_champagne 's review for:
The Stray Prince
by Ella Fields
Audra & Zadicus stress me the f*ck out.
First of all, never has the Authors Note hooked me... until now. Ella Fields thanks her kids aka "The most magical of all my creations." only to end with explicit warning "Also, if you ever see this, stop right here and put the damn book down. I mean it."
I mean, if that doesn't get get someones attention idk what will. I'm only 3 chapters in, but it's safe to say I have very high hopes for The Stray Prince, & was hooked quite literally from page fucking one.
*UPDATE*
Just finished The Stray Prince, & I think I have more gray hairs then when I started. I totally loved it though.
This story continues Audra, Zadicus, Raiden & the crews story after the mess that was the love triangle in A King so Cold. They have their own little flow going now.
Raid hates Zad.
Zad hates Raid.
Audra is icey & tolerates things that align with her Queenly duties because she's a boss.
Her two men tolerate each other, because they have to. King Raiden spends most of his time in the Sun Kingdom, reappearing in the Moon Kingdom for kingdom ruling reasons, & also because he loves to piss of his wifes mate. All as to be expected, business as usual. The small amount of banter we get with these two is entertaining IMO.
Shit gets weird when Audra is found sleep walking.
Not just walking around the castle but wandering the town, even found in a lake.
Zad is flipping out. Audra internally panics, afraid it's a sign she's losing her mind like her father did. Zad knows more than he's letting on, omitting some pretty important facts (that you'll have to read to learn) & that's where the trouble really starts
Fast forward, we meet Zad's estranged half brother, Ryle. He's... not nice.
Audra is no Queen of warmth & compassion, so you'd think nothing would scare or surprise her. Ryle though, does just that. Audra had to watch her mother be beaten by several people, forced to witness god knows what else at her wicked fathers hands. Audra has seen & done some v dark shit, so you can only imagine the sort of things she'd have to witness to illicit this reaction:
True to form, Queen Audra never shows a sliver of weakness, ever the logical, analytical, dutiful Queen. She is truly Ice Queen goals:
That being said, her smooth as silk character arc does continue. And, just like her arc in A King so Cold, EF managed to write character growth without compromising or changing Audra's true nature & that's what I love the most about her character.
She can feel her "cold heart" thawing, perhaps to certain things, but the coldness remains.
But finally, & I mean FINALLY she sets her pride to the side, or maybe it's not pride, but her own stubborn mind that didn't let her acknowledge it before, only now able to voice it - & she tells Zad what she's needed to forevs.
*chefs kiss*
Zad on the otherhand, he was a real handful this fucking time around, let me tell you. In true male form (his true form) his arrogance & ego for the first time took control and overpowered his feelings for Audra. Something he finally acknowledges at some point.
Zad's emotions are like a yo-yo throughout this whole thing. He went from being the constant, most predictable element, the male that waited like a puppy in Audra's bed while she went about her life in A King so Cold - to one of the most unpredictable & impulsive bastards in the duology. The amount of times he apologized, only to flip the f out again, was insane. But, I was v into it. Moody Broody Zad FTW
First of all, never has the Authors Note hooked me... until now. Ella Fields thanks her kids aka "The most magical of all my creations." only to end with explicit warning "Also, if you ever see this, stop right here and put the damn book down. I mean it."
I mean, if that doesn't get get someones attention idk what will. I'm only 3 chapters in, but it's safe to say I have very high hopes for The Stray Prince, & was hooked quite literally from page fucking one.
*UPDATE*
Just finished The Stray Prince, & I think I have more gray hairs then when I started. I totally loved it though.
This story continues Audra, Zadicus, Raiden & the crews story after the mess that was the love triangle in A King so Cold. They have their own little flow going now.
Raid hates Zad.
Zad hates Raid.
Audra is icey & tolerates things that align with her Queenly duties because she's a boss.
Her two men tolerate each other, because they have to. King Raiden spends most of his time in the Sun Kingdom, reappearing in the Moon Kingdom for kingdom ruling reasons, & also because he loves to piss of his wifes mate. All as to be expected, business as usual. The small amount of banter we get with these two is entertaining IMO.
“Did you not ask for warriors?” Raiden asked.
But all I heard was, “Why haven’t you punched me in the face?”
Shit gets weird when Audra is found sleep walking.
Not just walking around the castle but wandering the town, even found in a lake.
Zad is flipping out. Audra internally panics, afraid it's a sign she's losing her mind like her father did. Zad knows more than he's letting on, omitting some pretty important facts (that you'll have to read to learn) & that's where the trouble really starts
Now, he was just another male who was not what he’d promised. Who was not who I’d thought he was.
Fast forward, we meet Zad's estranged half brother, Ryle. He's... not nice.
Audra is no Queen of warmth & compassion, so you'd think nothing would scare or surprise her. Ryle though, does just that. Audra had to watch her mother be beaten by several people, forced to witness god knows what else at her wicked fathers hands. Audra has seen & done some v dark shit, so you can only imagine the sort of things she'd have to witness to illicit this reaction:
Of all the atrocities I’d experienced, of all the wicked things I’d done with my own two hands and magical abilities, not once had I ever felt like this. Helpless, horrified, and disturbed right down to the dregs of my soul.
True to form, Queen Audra never shows a sliver of weakness, ever the logical, analytical, dutiful Queen. She is truly Ice Queen goals:
I could lie. But just because I loved a male to the point of self-ruination did not mean I’d lose that shard of ice I was born with.
That being said, her smooth as silk character arc does continue. And, just like her arc in A King so Cold, EF managed to write character growth without compromising or changing Audra's true nature & that's what I love the most about her character.
She can feel her "cold heart" thawing, perhaps to certain things, but the coldness remains.
I would freeze it, surely. A heart like mine might not have been as dark as it once was, as what it could have become, but it was still cold nonetheless.
But finally, & I mean FINALLY she sets her pride to the side, or maybe it's not pride, but her own stubborn mind that didn't let her acknowledge it before, only now able to voice it - & she tells Zad what she's needed to forevs.
“You... you balance the scales. You make me better without robbing me of who I really am. And that is why my soul chose yours. That is why I let my heart do the same.”
*chefs kiss*
Zad on the otherhand, he was a real handful this fucking time around, let me tell you. In true male form (his true form) his arrogance & ego for the first time took control and overpowered his feelings for Audra. Something he finally acknowledges at some point.
“I was not only mad at you,” he admitted. “I was furious with myself—for I knew—deep down, I knew what you would do. I knew you would outsmart anyone you had to and return home alive at any cost, and I was furious that I hadn’t been able to give that to you. That instead, you did it yourself because I...” He blew out a warm breath, and my eyelashes fluttered as it met my mouth. “I couldn’t keep up, couldn’t keep my head and heart afloat, let alone on the same page with each new assault and fear. I failed you, and just know that has been almost unbearable, almost as unbearable as being without you.”
Zad's emotions are like a yo-yo throughout this whole thing. He went from being the constant, most predictable element, the male that waited like a puppy in Audra's bed while she went about her life in A King so Cold - to one of the most unpredictable & impulsive bastards in the duology. The amount of times he apologized, only to flip the f out again, was insane. But, I was v into it. Moody Broody Zad FTW